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Shanxi Clique
The Shanxi Clique is a warlord state in northern China, containing most of the titular province of Shanxi as well as a majority of Shaanxi. Like most warlord Cliques, Shanxi recognizes the Qing Empire as the legitimate government of China. Due to its closeness to the center of Qing power in the North China Plain, the Qing government is able to exert an unusual amount of control over Shanxi while the province remains semi-autonomous. Shanxi borders the Ma Clique to the north and west and the central government of the Qing Empire to the south and east. Shanxi is famous for its neutrality, only going to war when the province itself is directly threatened. History In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution began, successfully overthrowing the Qing Emperor. Division commander Yan Xishan drove Qing forces from Shanxi and declared the province independent. Yan's men elected him military governor, but in 1913 President Yuan Shikai invaded and overran most of Shanxi. Yan however avoided decisive battle, instead retreating into neighboring Shaanxi with the bulk of his forces. When in July seven southern provinces rebelled against Yuan, Yan allied with him and was confirmed as military governor of Shanxi. The President's death in 1916 ended much of what remained of Beijing's authority, and China fragmented into the rule of rival warlord cliques, of which Shanxi was one. Yan Xishan devoted the next decade to modernizing Shanxi, while staying out of the conflicts that gripped the rest of China. Shanxi was among China's poorest provinces 1911, and state-run industrialization was a major focus. In 1925, the Guominjun – a warlord clique to Shanxi's north and west – began a war against the Fengtian clique to Shanxi's east which ended the next year in the Guominjun's collapse. Yan absorbed the remnants of its forces along with their leader, Feng Yuxiang, to bolster his position. In 1926, the Fengtian Clique attacked the Zhili Clique with the expectation that any advance towards Beijing by Wu Peifu of the latter would be forewarned by Yan, as the Jinghan Line railroad lay just east of Shanxi. However, Yan was offered bribes by Germany to stay silent, and with German assistance Wu took Beijing and won the war for Zhili. This was not what Yan had intended. Instead, the sudden strength of the Zhili, now the Qing Empire reborn, left Shanxi vulnerable to conquest. The presence of the Guominjun may well be what justified an invasion, as the faction was formed by Feng's betrayal of Wu Peifu during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. To this end Yan allied with Japan and the Fengtian Clique, and prepared to attack the restored Qing Empire. In March 1928, Yan declared the Qing government illegitimate, and launched two attacks which would, if successful, take Wu's personal headquarters and cleave the Jinghan Line in three. However, German breach of Japanese encryption ensured that Wu had foreknowledge of the offensives, and both were defeated and the Qing counterattacked, overrunning Jindong (eastern Shanxi) before the front stabilized. Nonetheless, the war continued elsewhere. In July escalation of the war was prevented by United States mediation, and the conference became a comprehensive restructuring of Chinese diplomatic politics. Shanxi was made to sign an armistice with Qing, to recognize it as the legitimate Chinese government, and to formally cede control of Jindong. Military Shanxi's military is small but well trained (for China) and experienced as is predominantly composed of the remnants of the Guominjun. Subsequently, it is predominantly loyal to Feng Yuxiang rather than Yan Xishan, which causes some tension.Category:Countries Category:Asian countries Category:Chinese-related topics